sinister71 wrote: if someone thinks something is great before even viewing it, that experience is going to be totally different than someone who goes into viewing something with an indifferent attitude. But it's okay for you to think something is bad before even viewing it? That's certainly how I read your OP. Clearly, you realized it yourself or you wouldn't have added your "this is not a bashing thread" disclaimer.

The reality is that the first film SHOULD be more innocent, childlike, and, in your words, "cartoonish." A brilliant way to present the trilogy is to capture the children's tale nature of Tolkien's work and then slowly but surely transition into the darker and more mature themes present in the LOTR by the end of film 3.

I recall how the portrayals of Merry and Pippin were bashed for being juvenile and one dimensional in FOTR. But, lo and behold, when the entire trilogy played out most Tolkien fans found their overall portrayal endearing. That's because key characters in films have story arcs. But when you are telling a story in multiple films, you're not going to get a complete picture in a single theatrical release. The same will be the case with The Hobbit trilogy. None of us here will be able to authoritatively judge the film version of The Hobbit and its characters until we've seen all three films, much less one film---and certainly not, as is the case here, a couple 2-minute trailers.